Three-way railway-switch.



Paternidad Jan. I4. |902.

jun. 690,922.r

w. F. Bossi-:BL THREE-WAY RAlLWAY SWITCH.

(Application med sept.- 20, 1901.),

(No Model.)

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YVILLAM F. BOSSERT, OF UTIOA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-TlrlllRD TO HENRY P. OROUSE, OF UTICA, NEV YORK.

TH REE-WAY RAlLWAY-SWlTCl-l.

SPECIFICATION forming part of :Letters Patent No. 690,922, dated January 14, 1902. Application filed September 20, 1901. Serial No. 75.782. (No model.)

fo LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWrLLIAM F. Bossnnr, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Three-Way Railway-Switches,

of which the following is a specification.

The invention about to be described relates to railroad-switches, by means of which cars are diverted from one pair of rails to another.

ro In such switches it is common to provide a switch for each diversion from one track to another, and it is less common to arrange two or more switches to be operated by the same mechanism to enable cars to be transferred from a main track to a pluraiityot' diverging tracks.

By means ofthe present invention I am enabled to switch from the main track to a number of others by the same mechanism oper- 2o ated in a continuous direction or in any desired direction, as I will now proceed to describe, and particularly point out in the appended claims.

Ofthe accompanying drawings, which form apart of and illustratethis specification, Figures 1, 2, and 3 are diagram views of a main railroad-track having a divergent track on each side thereof, showing the .main track switched to each side track, respectively. Fig. 3o It is a sectional view of the switch apparatus,

and Figs. 5 and 6 are details of the foregoing.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the tern.

I have illustrated the invention with a three-way switch, and in the drawings A represents a main track, consisting of the rails a a2, both of which, as they approach the switch S, are bent outwardly, as b and c2, to form respective parts or rails of the divergent 4o tracks B and C-one to the left side and the other to the right side. The main track continues bythe rails a5 and as, but between the rails ct and a5 is a movable part or point a3, pivoted at a4, and between the rails a2 and a6 4 5 is the movable part or point a, pivoted at a7.

The second rail b2 of the track B has a movable terminal point b3, pivoted at b4 and is joined with the rail c (the complementary rail ot' track C) at its junction f therewith. 5o S is the switch, shown as having a hollow supporting-casing m, provided at its base switch-lanwitii feet 20, by which it is bolted to a suitable foundation. 11 and 12 are divisions from side to side of the casing, in the center of which is a square hole adapted to receive and support the vertical square rod s, provided with a collar 25, which rests upon the top of the division 11 to hold the rod in position. Secured to the lower end of the rod is a diskj. At the upper end of the rod s is a six-sided 6o lantern p, having orifices on each side, covered with glass of three differing colors, the opposite oriiices having similar colors, and directly below the lantern is a block 0, having sides corresponding to those of the lantern and in the same plane. The sides of the block are painted to the same color as the glass windows directly above them.

r is a lamp inside the lantern, which has a cover to protect the lamp. 7o

D is a lever pivoted at 16 to the rod s and has a slot in its lower end adapted to fit over the lugs n, n2, and n3, projecting outwardly from the upper end of the casing, and 17 isa link pivoted to the lever D at 15 at one end, 75 while its opposite end is pivoted to the sliding six-'sided wedge-block 14, whose lower end is tapered to readily engage the entrance of the six-sided hole in the top 13 of the casing, which hole serves as a locking-nut and'So prevents the rod sfroin turning around.

t' is a rod extending from the movable point CL3 to the movable point b3 and is connected by the collars 3 3 with the former and by the collars 4 4. with the latter. 8g

h is a fiat bar extending under the rodi and under the rails, provided with an upward-projecting lug 9, through which passes the rod i, and on each side of the lug are collars 10 10, secured to the rod to hold the lug 9o in position. At one side of the bar 7i. is pivoted a link 5, whose other end is pivoted to the upper side of the diskj at point 8, and h2 is a similar dat bar extending under the rod 712 and under the rails with an upwardprojecting lug 9, through which the rod 0.2 passes, secured in position by collars 10 10. One end of the link 6 is pivoted to the bar and its opposite end is pivoted to the under side of the diskj.

In the operation of the invention to show the progressive travel of the switch S we ob- IOC serve that Fig. l represents the main track A as having its railsctc severed at the switch and that all the movable points a3, c3, b3, and a9 are drawn over to the right, the links 5 and 6 having been pulled as far as they can go by the turning of the lever D to the position shown in dotted lines, so that the rail ct continues to rail b of track B, and the rail a? is continued over the movable point b3 and rail b2 of said track. While in this position the lantern-signal p and the target-signal o are turned so that the colors thereon indicate to the switchman ithe position of the switch. Should it be desirable to continue the track A in a straight line, the lever D is raised, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the six-sided sleeve 14 is raised and unlocked from the nut 13. Then the lever is moved over the lng 'n2 and closed down upon the same, the sleeve 14 being forced into the nut 13, locking the lever thereto. When the lever D is moved over, the disk is rotated, and the link 5 forces the bar h, with its rod fi, into the position shown in Fig. 2, and the movable point b3 is carried away from the movable point a, and the movable point a3 is separated from the movable point c3 and carried over to the rail a. The link 6 is carried from one side of the center of the vertical rod s to a similar position on the other side of the center, so that practically there is no movement of the bar h2 and its connected rod t2, there being sufficient allowance made in construction to regulate this,- and should the track A be connected to the divergent track C in effecting this the lever D is raised and turned to the position shown in Fig. 3 and locked with the lug n3. This movement rotates lthe diskjand forces the link 6 into the position shown in said ligure, and the bar h2, with its rod i2, carries the movable points a9 and c3, the former away from the rail a2 into contact with the movable point b3 and the latter into contact with the movable point a3, and in this case the diskj carries its pivoted end of the link 5 from one side ot the center of the rod s to a similar position on the other side of the center, and as in the similar position of the link 6 the parts are so arranged that there is no movement of the bar h. At each movement ot' the lever D and the consequent rotation of the lantern-signal and the target-signal, the former being more especially a night and the latter a day signal, a colored window and surface are exposed, which are characteristic of the position of theswitch and are indications to the railway employees of such positions.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a three-way railway-switch, a main track and a divergent track from each side thereof, the two rails of the main track being severed at the switch and movable points introduced on one side, while on the other side the rails extend outwardly to form one entrance-rail of the respective divergent tracks, the second entrance-rails of the divergent tracks terminating in movable points adjacent to the main-track-rail movable points and inside the same, the movable point of one main rail rigidly connected by a bar with the movable point of a rail of a divergent track on one side, and the second main-rail movable point connected rigidly by abar with the movable point of a rail of the second divergent track, a switch consisting` of a casing supporting a vertical rod bearing upon its lower end a disk, two links, one pivoted at the upper side of the disk and also to the connecting rail-bar of one divergent track, and the second link pivoted at the lower side of the disk and also with the connecting rail-bar of the second divergent track, a lever pivoted to said vertical rod and linked to a sliding sleeve on said rod, which sleeve normally rests in a nut in said casing, while the lever is locked to one of three studs upon the said casing.

2. In a three-way railway-switch, a main track and a divergent track from each side thereof, the two rails of the main track being severed at the switch and movable points introduced on one side, while on the other side the rails extend outwardly to form one entrance-rail ofthe respective divergent tracks, the second entrance-rails of the divergent tracks terminating in movable points adjacent to the main-track-rail movable points andinside the same, the movable point of one main rail rigidly connected by a bar with the movable point of a rail of a divergent track on one side, and the second main-rail movable point connected rigidly by a bar with the movable point of a rail of the second divergent track, a switch consisting of a casing supporting ya vertical rod bearing upon its lower end a disk, two links, one pivoted at the upper side of the disk and also to the connecting rail-bar of one divergent track, and the second link pivoted at the lower side of the disk and also with the connecting rail-bar of the second divergent track, a lever pivoted to said vertical rod and linked to a sliding sleeve on said rod, which sleeve normally' rests in a nut in said casing, while the lever is locked to one of three studs upon the said casing, a signal-lantern at the upper end of said vertical rod having six sides, each provided with diterently-colored transparent windows, the opposite windows having the same colors, with means for illuminating the same, a second or target signal under the lantern, having six sides each colored the same as the window above it.

3. In a three-way railway-switch, a main track and a divergent track from each side thereof, the two rails of the main track being severed at the switch and movable points introduced on one side, while on the other side the rails extend outwardly to form one entrance-rail of the respective divergent tracks, the second entrance-rails of the divergent tracks terminating in movable points adjacent to the main-track-rail movable points and inside the same, the movable point of one IOC IIO

main rail rigidly connected bya bar with the movable point of a rail of a divergent track on one side, and the second main-rail movable point connected rigidly by abar with the movable point of a rail of the second divergent track, a switch consisting of a casing supporting a vertical rod bearing upon its lower end a disk, two links, one pivoted at the upper side of the disk and also to the connecting rail-bar of one divergent track, and the second link pivoted at the lower side of the disk and also with the connecting rail-bar of the second divergent track, a lever pivoted to said vertical rod and linked to a sliding sleeve on said rod, which sleeve normally rests in a nut in said casing, while the lever is locked to one of three studs upon the said casing, whereby when the main track may be switched to one divergent track then to close its own track, and finally switched to the second divergent track, bysuccessively turning the switch-lever in the same direction.

4f. In a three-way railway-switch, a main track and a divergent track from each side thereof, the two rails of the main track being severed at the switch and movable points introduced on one side, while on the other side Athe rails extend outwardly to form one entrance-rail of the respective divergent tracks, the second entrance-rails of the divergent tracks terminating in movable points adjacent to the main-trackrail movable points and inside the same, the movable point of one main rail rigidly connected bya bar with the movable point of a rail of a divergent track on one side, and the second main-rail movable point connected rigidly by a bar with the movable point of a rail of the second divergent track, a switch consisting of a casing supporting a vertical rod bearing upon its lower end a disk, ltwo links, one pivoted at the upper side of the disk and also to the connecting rail-bar of one divergent track, and the second link pivoted at the lower side of the disk and also with the connecting rail-bar of the second divergent track, a lever pivoted to said vertical rod and linked to a sliding sleeve on said rod, which sleeve normally rests in a nut in said casing, while the lever is locked to one of three studs upon the said casing, whereby when the main track may be switched to one divergent track then to close its own track, and finally switched to the second divergent track, by successively turning the switch-lever in the same direction, and as the movable points connect with the severed main track to form a completed track, a sig nal is automatically made for each track.

5. In a railway-switch consisting of a main track and a divergent track from each side thereof, the rails of the main track bending outward on each side to form approaches for a rail of each divergent track, severing the 1nain-track rails, each of which is adapted to be closed by pivoted movable points from the rail continuations; the second rails of each Vdivergent track meetingat a junction between the main-track rails and provided with pivoted movable points; each main track movable point rigidly connected to the Inovable point of the divergent-track rail adjacent thereto by a rod which is in liexible connection with a disk on the end of a vertical rod located in suitable bearings; with means for rotating the said disk and for locking the same to hold the said movable points in any one of three positions,

6. In a three-way railway-switch, a main track and a divergent track from each side thereof, the two rails of the main track being severed at the switch and movable points introduced on one side, while on the other side the rails extend outwardly to form an entrance-rail of the respective divergent tracks, the second entrance-rails of the divergent tracks terminating in movable points adjacent to the main-track-rail movable points and inside the same, the movable point of one main rail rigidly connected by a bar with the Vmovable point of a rail of a divergent track on one side, an operating-rod extending parallel with the said bar under the rails provided with adjustable means of attachment to the said bar and having a link pivoted to one end; and the second main-rail movable point connected rigidly by a bar with the movable point of a rail of the second divergent track, an operating-rod extending parallel with the said bar under the rails provided with adjustable means of attachment to the said bar and having a link pivc'ted to one end; a switch consisting of a casing supporting avertical rod bearing upon its lower end a disk, one of said links pivoted at the upper side of the disk, and the second link pivoted at the lower side of the disk; a lever pivoted to the said vertical rod and linked to a sliding sleeve on said rod; which sleeve normally rests in a nut in said casing, while the leveris locked to one of three studs upon the casing.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 3d day of September, 1901.

WILLIAM F. BOSSERT.

Witnesses:

GEO. WILLIS PIERCE, VICTOR M. BERTHOLD.

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